Car door mounting



E. G. BUSSE GAR DooR MOUNTING Filed Oct. 4, 1930 March 13, 1934.

2 Sheets-#Sheet l4 Patented Mar. is, 1934 UNITED STATES-.PATENT ,orpi

CAR DOOR MOUNTING Edwin Busse, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Chicago Railway Equipment Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application October 4, 1930, Serial No. 486,367 3 Claims. (Cl. 16-87) This invention relates to improvements in car doors, and more particularly to improvements in means for slidably supporting the doors of practically all types of house freight cars.

The main objects of the invention are; to provide improved means for slidably supporting either single or double doors so as to permit the same to be opened or closed with comparative ease; to provide supporting means whichis effective to assure absolute parallelism of the door and perfect alignment of the front and back edges of the door with the front and back door stops so as to facilitate the formation of substantially weather-tight joints at the said front and back edges pf the door; and to provide an arrangement which is simple in construction, easy of application to the car door structure, and highly effective for its said purpose without adversely affecting the freedom of movement of the door or doors from closed to open position, or vice versa.

Other objects and advantages will be understood by reference to the following specification and accompanying two sheets of drawings, in

.- which my invention is illustrated in certain preferred forms.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a freight car including a sliding door;

2 is a plan section on the line 2-2 of Figs. 3 and 4 are sections on the lines 3-3 and 4 4, respectively, of Fig. l:

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation correspending to a portion of Fig. 1, but illustrating a modified arrangement;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of a car having double orso-called automobile doors, certain parts being broken away to more clearly illustrate certain details of construction;

Fig. 'I is a plan section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6; f

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6, and y Fig. 9 is-a fragmentary section on the lines 9-9 of Figs. '7 and 8.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, I have illustrated the floor of a car at 12 and the side wall at 13. The floor and side walls 12 and 13. respectively, may be of any desirable construction, which in this instance, may be considered of Wood. A doorway 14 is provided in the side wall-13, a door frame 15 being built around the doorway on the outside of the side wall 13. The door frame may be of any suitable construction, and in this instance it is illustrated as including composite wood and metal side posts 16 and 17. The composite post 16 includes a wooden member 18 and a metal Z- bar 19, the wood post being seated in one of e0 the angles of the Z-bar substantially as illustrated. The composite postI 17 also includes a wooden'post 18 and a metal Z-bar 19 arranged substantially as illustrated. A metal wear plate 20 is desirably provided in the doorway to pree5 vent excessive wear and damage to the floor of the car in the doorway.

The doorway may bev closed by a wood or metal door, 'and in this instance I have illustrated a metal door 21 which is provided with reinforcing 70 bars or members 22 and 23 at its front and rear edges, respectively, and stiffenng members such as 24 may be provided intermediate the top and bottom edges of the door. The top edge construction may be of any suitable form which pro-v vides the desired weather-tight joint between the door and door frame. At the front edge of the door, I provide a front stop 25 which is secured to the metal member 19 of the post 16 and which vis designed to overlap the forwardly projecting flange of the member 22 at the front edgeof the door when the door is closed, as indicated at 26. In the presentA instance, I have illustrated4 the door as arranged to be moved to the right in Figs. 1 and 2, from closed position, as illus- 85 trated, to open position. Hence, it will be readily understood that the front marginal-portion of the door is readily movable into or out of the vertical channel-like receptacle formed by the front stop 26. At the back edge of the door, I provide a back stop 27, which is in the form of an angle iron member secured to the metal part 19 of the post 17. The rear marginal portion of the door is provided with a substantially channel-shaped member 28 which is secured to and carried by 95 the door in such' a way that when the door is moved to closed position, the flange 29 of the back stop will beengaged by the angularly disposed flange 30 of the channel-like member 28. The door stops 25 and 27 and the bars or mem- 109 bers 22 and 23 thus form weather-tight joints at the front and rear edges of the door when the door isclosed.

For slidably supporting the door. I provide a track member 31 which' may be in the form of an .105 angle iron member, the same being rigidly mounted in any suitable manner on the car body, for instance, by means of brackets such as 32 which are secured to the sill 33 of the car. The door is provided at its lower edge with a Z-bar 34 110 having a horizontal web portion 35 disposed above the track and a depending ange 36 that overlaps the track 31 on the outside thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. To support'and facilitate the free sliding movement of the door along the track 31, anti-friction balls or rollers are interposed between the web 35 of part 34 and the track 31. In this instance, the anti-friction balls or rollers are maintained in proper spaced relation bya carriage 37 which may be of any suitable construction including pocket formations 38 and 39 at its opposite ends for receiving and retaining anti-friction balls or rollers 40 and 41. The length of the carriage or spacer 37 is materially less than the Awidth of the door, it being here shown as of such length that Awhen the door is in closed position, the anti-friction element 41 is disposed at the rear edge of the door, while the anti-friction element 40 is disposed slightly in advance of the middle of the door.

With this arrangement it is apparent that the door is effectively supported by the anti-friction balls which are in rolling contact with the track 31 and the bar 35 which is xed to the door, s o its movements along the track are effected with little or no rubbing friction or wear upon the pintles of bearing rollers, such as is apt to occur when bearing wheels or rollers are journalled in brackets xed to the door or to the door frame. It is also noted that the balls or rollers 40 and 41 are so spaced that normally there is little tendency of the door to tip around either roller as a fulcrum.

It will be understood that when the door is moved from closed position, as illustrated, to open position, the carriage 37 and the anti-friction members 40 and 41 will move rearwardly with the door, but only about one half the total distance travelled by the door. Hence, when the door is in open position, the carriage 37 will be disposed beneath the forward portion of the door, instead of the rearward portion, as illustrated.

For insuring proper positioning of thecarriage 37 and its anti-friction members 40 and 41, I provide interengaging means between the carriage and door, consisting of lugs 42 and 43 on the carriage and lugs 44 and 45 carried by the door. When the door approaches its completely closed position, it will be evident that the lug 44 carried by the door will engage the lug 42 of the carriage to insure full advancement of the carriage 37 to the normal position shown. In Va similar manner, the lugs 45 and 43 co-operate toinsure proper positioning of the carriage when the door is moved to its. extreme open position. The cooperating lugs also serve to slightly check the nal opening and closing movements of the door. The front and rear ends of the carriage 37 are provided with depending lugs 38 and 39', respectively, which slide on the track 31 and serve to maintain the carriage as a whole at an elevation from the track so that there is a minimum of frictional resistance to movement of the carriage along the track. l

With the anti-friction bearing described, there is a relatively unsupported portion of the door when it is in closed position, in that the forward portion of the door, i. e., the portion in front of the front anti-friction member 40, is not directly supported by the track 31. In order to relieve such an unsupported load and to thereby increase the rigidity and durability of the door and also to insure proper alignment of its front and rear edges with the respective door stops when the door'is closed, I provide'an auxiliary support at the forward edge of the door made in the form of a roller 46 carried by a shaft 47 which is mounted at its opposite ends in the flange 36 of the Z-bar 34' and the depending ange 48 of an inner cover plate member 49. The depending ange 48 preferably extends substantially the full width of the door and co-operates with the flange 36 of the Z-bar 34 to provide an enclosing housing for the door-supporting means so as to thereby prevent an accumulation of snow and ice or other foreign matter which would interfere with the operation .of the door.

The auxiliary supporting member 46 is spaced above and does not engage the main body of the track 31 and hence it does not aiect Athe freedom of movement of the door upon the anti-friction rollers. However, a track section 50, conveniently formed integral with the track 31 but raised with respect thereto, is provided and which is arranged to be engaged by the auxiliary support 46 when the door is closed and during the final closing movement of the door. Thus, notwithstanding the fact that the anti-friction door supporting means is positioned below the rear part of the door when the latter is closed, with the ball or roller 40 near but somewhat in advance of the center of the door, the auxiliary support 46 and raised track section 50 will uphold the forward portion of the door during the final closing movement and insure that its edges are maintained parallel to the front and rear door stops and with the bar 35, that engages the balls, parallel to the track. Hence, the edge portions of the door will properly and snugly engage the front and rear door stops to form and maintain weather-tight joints, and the binding of the anti-friction balls or rollers is avoided. Also, the roller 40l and raised track section 50 will prevent any tipping of the door about theroller 40 when the c ar is in motion, or when camming devices, such as are commonly employed, are provided for effecting the nal closing movement of the door and forcing it to home position in snug engagement with the front and back stops and which camming devices are apt to exert downward pressure upon theforward edge of the door.

However, the roller 46 and track section 50 are so disposed that they do not cooperate to lift the `door from the anti-friction balls or rollers, so that the anti-friction door supporting means is maintained by the weight of the door in proper position below the rear portion of the door when the door is closed. Otherwise, the anti-friction Aballs would not be free to roll along the track when the' door is opened.

In Fig. 5, I have illustrated an auxiliary support 51 in the form of av shoe designed to slide on the raised track section 50. In some respects,

this sliding form of support is desirable but the roller 46 is preferred, since it facilitates the iinal closing movement of the door into snug engage- .ment with the front and vrear door stops.

In Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive, my invention is illustrated as embodied in a double door arrangement such as is used on automobile cars and the like where a wide doorway is necessary` to permit an automobile or other large objects to be moved into or out of the car. The body of the car is designated 52 and the doorway of superior width is indicated at 53. The doorway is provided with a suitable frame structure; which includes side postsV at the opposite sides of the doorway, one of which is indicated at 54, this post being of composite Wood and metal cgnstruction of substanmemes in connection with Figs. 1 and 2. There are two doors, designated 55 and 56, respectively, for closing the doorway, the door 55 being the main door and being supported on a suitable track by means of anti-friction bearings and an auxiliary support, substantially in the manner` described above inl connection with the single-door embodif ment. The door 56 may be considered an auxiliary door which is opened only when automobiles or other objects are to be moved into the car, which objects are too large to'pass through the ingle doorway which is closed by the main door In double-door carstructures, a movable post is provided intermediate the opposite side lposts of the main door frame, such a movable post being shown at 57. In this instance, the movable post 57 is of composite wood and metal construction, which ilncludes a wood post member 58 and a metal member 59, the latter being of channel shape and designed .to receive the wood post member substantially as shown. The adjustablepost member 57 is secured to the forward edge of the auxiliary door 56 by riveting, as indicated at 60, the rivets extending through the marginal portion of the metal door and through the adjacent flange of the metal channel member 59. The wood member 57 of the post is, of course, secured to thelmetal member in any suitable manner.

The post member 57 is provided with suitable means for locking the post in its intermediate or operative position, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The locking means may be of any conventional form, and in this instance it is illustrated as including a vertically adjustable `bolt 6l which is slidable through a bracket element 62 which is secured to the lower end of the post. The lower end of the bolt 6l is designed to enter a pocket or socket 63 provided in a cast metal keeper member 64, the latter being mounted in the :door and permanently fastened in place in any suitable manner; for instance, by means of rivets 65 which secure the oor member to an angle iron 66 which is carried by the sill 67 of the car.

The bracket element 62 includes the apertured, outwardly projecting portion through which the locking bolt 6l. passes, and also the upwardly extending portion 68, through the agency of which the bracket is secured to the metal member 59 of the post by means of rivets 69. Under the end of the composite post 57, the bracket member is provided with pocket formations '70 and 71. The pocket 70 is designed to receive an upwardly projecting stud-like portion 'l2 of the keeper member or casting 64 for stopping the post in proper position as clearly shown in Fig. 5, and the pocket '71 is designed to receive a supporting roller 73 which corresponds tothe auxiliary roller 46 of the single-door structure previously described.

- The auxiliary door 56 is slidably mounted on' a track 74 which is carried by the sill 67 through the agency of suitable brackets, a suitable antifriction means 75 similar to that previously described being provided for facilitating free sliding movement of the auxiliary door. The auxiliary supporting roller 73 engages a raised track section 76 (see Fig. 9) formed upon the casting 64 when the door is in its substantially closed position. It will be understood that when the auxiliary door is to be opened, the locking bolt 61 of the movable post 57'is unlocked so that the movable post 57 and the door 56 towhich the post is secured may be slid as a unit to open position (to the left in Figs. 6 and 7). Since the auxiliary supporting roller 73 is operative to support the door only when in its substantially closed position, it will be apparent that the said auxiliary support has no adverse effect upon the free movement of the auxiliary door 56, the entire load being taken up by the anti-friction means '75.

The main door 55 is of substantially the same construction as the door 21 of the single door arrangement previously described, and it is slidably mounted on the track 74 through the agency of similar anti-friction means 77 which is interposed between the bottom of the door and the track 74 as previously described. An auxiliary supporting roller 78 'is also secured to the main door 55 at its front edge and engages a raised track .section 79 which may conveniently be formed integral with the track 74 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 6.

The rear edge ofthe auxiliary door 56 is provided with a stop member 80 which is designed to engage the rearwardly extending flange of an angle iron stop memberll, as shown in Fig. 7, to provide a substantially weather-tight seal between the rear edge of the auxiliary door and the door frame. To provide a similar weather-tight joint between the adjacentedges of the main door 55 and auxiliary door 56, a suitable metal stop member 82 is secured to the front edge of the auxiliary door so as to provide a groove or pocket for receiving the front marginal portion 84 oi the main door substantially as illustrated in Fig. 7. The auxiliary `supports provided at the front, i. e., adjacent edges ofthe main and auxiliary doors 55 and 56 co-operate with the ball or roller bearings to properly support the doors in closed position and to maintain them in alignment and insure the formation of weather-tight joints at their front and rear edges. The roller 73 and short raised track section at the lower end of the movable post aid materially in sustaining the weight of the post in its operative closed position.

Suitable locking devices such as indicated at 85 may be provided for locking the doors in closed position. These locking devices may be' of any conventional or desired form and need not be described in detail, inasmuch as they form no part of the present invention. However, the form of hasp or locking device 85. as shown, is preferably provided with a curved or cam portion such as usually employed to effect the final closing movement of the door to home position.

Obviously the present invention is not limited to the location oi the door supporting devices at the lower edge of the door and changes may be made in the details set forth Without departing from the spirit of my invention; wherefore the scope of the same should be determined by the following claims which should be construed as broadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a oar, the combination with a door frame, and a sliding door outside of the door frame, of a supporting track for the door, a bar fixed to the door and disposed above the track, anti-friction rollers and a spacer therefor interposed between the track and bar and movable relatively thereto, means for positioning the spacer and anti-friction rollers at the ends of the door movement, an auxiliary supporting member mounted on the door adjacent its front edge, and a raised track section arranged to be engaged by said auxiliary supporting member only at the final closing movement of the door and cooperate with the rollers to hold the door square in closed position with fai the weight of the door maintained upon the antifriction rollers to hold them in position at the central and rear portions of the door, substantially as described.

2. In a car, the combination with a door `frame and a sliding door outside of the door frame, of a supporting track for the door, a bar xed to the door and disposed above the track, spaced antifriction rollers interposed between and in rolling contact with the track and bar, cooperating lugs for positioning the spaced rollers at the ends of the door movements, an auxiliary supporting roller journalled on the door adjacent its front edge, and a raised track section adapted to be engaged by said auxiliary roller only at the inal closing movement of the door to maintain the latter square in closed position with the Weight of the door upon the spaced anti-friction rollers to hold them in position at the central and rear portions of the door, substantially as described.

3. In a car, the combination .with a door frame and a sliding door outside of the door frame, of a supporting track for the door, a housing secured to the lower edge of the door and extending over and embracing the track, door supporting, antifriction balls and a spacing carriage therefor disposed within the housing with the balls in rolling Contact with the track and a portion of the housing, and an auxiliary supporting roller journalled in said housing adjacent the front edge of the door, said track having a. raised section arranged to be engaged by said auxiliary roller only during the final closing movement of the door and while the weight of the door is maintained upon the anti-friction balls to hold them in position, substantially as described.

EDWIN G. B UssE. 

